A critical problem in the effective clinical evaluation of neuromuscular disabilities is how to objectively measure or quantize such disabilities. While it is relatively easy to photograph, measure or otherwise record a physical deformity or physically observe certain damage to the human body, it has proven impossible in the past to find an accurate technique for objectively measuring or quantizing the physiological cost which a disability imposes upon the use of a damaged body.
In the past, a distinction has been made between "impairment" and functional "disability". "Impairment" has been used to refer to physical limitations in the normal range of movement of a portion of the body. Relatively simple devices have been used for measuring physical restrictions in the normal action of a body due to an anatomical deformity or damage. As an example, a goniometer is typically used for determining joint angles. On the other hand, "disability" refers to a loss of normal use or functioning of a portion of the body as a result of a physical impairment. In the past, physicians have generally restricted their analysis of disabilities to measuring "impairment" and it has been left to speculation as to what the physiological costs are when a "disability" exists. Thus, subjective determination of physiological cost has typically been used by employers and/or the courts. In the absence of reliable physiological data which show objective evidence of the actual disability, there has been no accurate way of determining what the physiological cost of a disability in a human body might be.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for objectively measuring physiological disabilities in the human body.